We recently found out that our little black boy Sammy became an uncle. Sammy's brother Lucky who lives with our breeder Julie in North Idaho had five little girl pups. They are absolutely adorable and the spitting image of their dad and uncle.
The first picture is of our Sam followed by the proud papa. It amazes me how much these two look alike! The last two pictures are of the little ones. I may be biased but there's nothing cuter than a litter of baby puglets :) Thanks to Julie for these great pics.
By now many of you are aware of the recent catastrophe in Haiti. I'd like challenge each of you to make some kind of donation to the relief efforts. The easiest method I've found is donating online through the Red Cross. You can do this by visiting www.redcross.org
I was in a documentary watching mood this weekend and the vast library at Netflix fit the bill. After a brief search, I settled on one covering the life of President Harry S. Truman.
Initially I knew little about Truman except he succeeded FDR and ended WWII with the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan. This particular documentary brought to light many things I didn't know about our 33rd President. Here's a few interesting facts I discovered.
Truman was a Missouri farmer and haberdasher who served as a military captain during WWI. Truman is the only President in modern history to not have obtained a college degree.
President Truman had a long courtship with his wife Bess and she turned down his first proposal. Bess was the only woman that President Truman ever dated.
Truman left office with an approval rating lower than President Nixon's but with the passage of time he has become quite a popular ex-president.
When President Johnson signed the Medicare legislation in the 60's, he gave Harry and Bess Truman the first two Medicare cards.
I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. Digging into history has been a favorite pursuit of mine and it's great to learn about the rich history of our country.
During my print journalism class we were assigned several stories relating to the perceptions of Muslims in the media. It was quite interesting to gather people's opinions on this often misunderstood group in American society.
Our professor, Clem Work assigned us a final group project relating to Muslims living here in Missoula. The stories covered a wide range of subject matter and I was assigned the task of gauging the amount of knowledge UM students had about Islam.
The stories were gathered and placed into a blog that I designed. I would like to invite you to peruse the work that our class assembled for our final.
I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about this fast growing religion and hopefully our work will clear up some of the numerous misconceptions surrounding the Islamic faith.
We've said goodbye to the naughties and ushered in a new decade. I'd like to wish you all the very best in 2010 and in the coming decade. May you be happy and healthy in the year ahead!
I said in my last entry that there would be changes ahead for my Mark in Montana blog. No worries about my blog ending but steps will be taken to keep things fresh. Starting this Thursday, I'll be doing briefer blog posts 3-4 times a week. This will make it easier for me to maintain my blog and at the same time allow me to cover a wider range of topics.
The other change I'm making is the end of sending out mass emails when I have a new update. This will save me a considerable amount of time with the planned increase of blogging. There are two alternative ways in which you can keep up with my blog.
Your first option is to become a follower of my blog. This means that Blogger (the host of my blog) will update you whenever I post a new entry. TO BECOME A FOLLOWER, SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF MY MAIN BLOG PAGE AND CLICK ON SUBSCRIBE TO: POSTS (ATOM).
If you don't want to become a follower you can email me at nodakwheeler@yahoo.com and I'll add you to my notification list.
I recently received my fall grades and I managed to get a 3.76 GPA. I'm really pleased because I had some pretty intense classes this fall. My best grade came in my reporting class and it should help greatly as I apply to the School of Journalism in March.
The break from school has been great and it feels good to be free from deadlines. I've been spending time catching up on movies, listening to some audio books, and of course enjoying our Pugs. Time is flying by and soon I'll be resuming the grind.
This spring will provide a diverse range of classes but I'll still be continuing my journalism education in earnest. My classes will include: Photojournalism, Current Events, International Relations, and Oceanography. I'm looking forward to getting my camera out and do some shooting. Last fall left me with little time to work on my photography.
Well it's time for me to ready for bed but before I go I'd like to thank you all for your continued support. It's hard to believe that this project is entering it's 6th year and the experience has been amazing! Here's hoping that 2010 will be the best yet.
